An Introduction to Orthodox Christology: The Pentateuch

Many people, when they hear the name Jesus Christ, assume that Christ is Jesus’ last name much like Smith, or Jones, or Wilson. But the English word Christ is simply a transliteration of the Greek word christos, which was used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament to translate the word Mashiach or Messiah. So when we hear the name Jesus Christ, we should not think of Christ as a last name but as a title. When we say “Jesus Christ,” we are saying “Jesus Messiah.”

Knowing this helps us to understand how we can speak of an Old Testament “Christ”-ology even though Jesus Christ Himself does not appear in the flesh until the New Testament Gospels. We can speak of an Old Testament Christology because the Old Testament contains numerous promises, prophecies, shadows, and types that point forward to the coming of the Messiah—to the coming of the Christ. We will not be looking at all such texts, but we will focus on some of the most important. If we are to understand who this Messiah is, we must have some understanding of these texts. Keep reading